Treating of the Connecting Vessels

Fetoscopic Placental laser Therapy: Since TTTS does not exist
in identical monochorionic (MC) twins without the connecting
placental blood vessels, it seems reasonable to find a way
to separate the twins' blood streams by destroying the connections.
The availability of surgical lasers in the early 1980's led
this innovative option, and the first fetoscopic laser occlusion
of the connecting vessels was performed in 1988 by Dr. Julian
E. De Lia at the University of Utah on a couple from Great
Falls, Montana. By linking the laser to fetoscopy (the insertion
of a tiny telescope into the pregnant uterus), doctors are
able to see and destroy all the connecting vessels. This operation
is the only TTTS treatment that can 'disconnect' the twins
and stop both the chronic transfusion of blood from the donor
to the recipient, and the acute or sudden transfusion should
one baby pass away or become suddenly ill.

This laser surgery is now performed in centers throughout
the world as more and more doctors are convinced that this
will lead to the best outcomes. To the best of our knowledge,
placental laser surgery results in the highest numbers of
healthy survivors in those patients with previable (i.e.,
less than 25 weeks' gestation) onset or diagnosis of TTTS.
Reports on this therapy currently indicate the following:
80-85% survival of at least one twin, 65-70% overall twin
survival, 5% or less significant handicap rates in the survivors,
and a treatment to delivery average interval of close to 10
weeks. The results may vary in different centers, and this
may reflect different levels of experience or the actual surgical
techniques used. The procedure involves general anesthesia
for the mother, and the surgical complication rates also vary
in different centers. These must be discussed with the individual
doctors performing the surgery.

I underwent the laser surgery on August 14th, 2002, at only 18 1/2 weeks of pregnancy. In the operating room, Dr. De Lia keeps prayer cards of Saints Gerard and Jude, the patron Saints of pregnancy and hopeless causes. Just before the surgery, we said a prayer together and asked St. Gerard to help our babies stay strong. I drifted off under the anesthesia, knowing that I was in the hands of a faith-filled surgeon who is totally dedicated to saving little twin babies with TTTS.
On December 15th, 2002, over eighteen weeks after their in-utero surgery, our beautiful little angels Sophie and Sara were born